Comments on: Where are You in the 4 Phases of Belief?http://www.northernway.org/weblog/?p=486
Inner Christian Teachings & MysteriesMon, 14 Nov 2016 02:59:29 +0000hourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.7By: Joshua Tilghmanhttp://www.northernway.org/weblog/?p=486&cpage=1#comment-32836
Sun, 03 Mar 2013 19:29:14 +0000http://www.northernway.org/weblog/?p=486#comment-32836I have been through stages 1,2, and then went to 4. Never went through 3, but I can certainly understand why someone would.

After going through stage 2 I retained my belief in religious text as being something significant, yet lost all enthusiasm for literal interpretations. Good post.

]]>By: Erik Weaverhttp://www.northernway.org/weblog/?p=486&cpage=1#comment-31366
Thu, 04 Aug 2011 04:34:32 +0000http://www.northernway.org/weblog/?p=486#comment-31366I think I pretty much skipped over stage #1. But I made up for that by remaining in stage #3 for a very long time.

Then about 4 years ago something “switched on” and I began deeply reading a number of subjects ranging from comparative religion and mythology to energy healing to psychology (I thoroughly enjoy reading Jung’s works!) to tarot (which I view through the lens of Jung’s synchronicty and archetype). Nothing was verboten!

I now feel like I am beginning to come out of stage #3 into #4. I feel that I have moved from a simplistic childish set of beliefs, to having become almost completely agnostic, or at least largely unconcerned with my spiritual development for many, many years, to forming a mature set of spiritual beliefs which offer me value.

I suspect I will always remain agnostic when pushed against the metaphorical wall — except for those beliefs offering either proof (and therefore no longer requiring belief) or for those beliefs illuminated by personal experience.

(For example, my earliest memory is actually of the “fading” of a previous life — therefore due to this experience I “know” reincarnation is real — it requires no “faith” on my part, nor complex mental/philosophical gymnastics. Although, to be fair, this doesn’t mean I understand it!)

The root of my default agnostic attitude is that the Divine transcends the human condition. It is beyond our ability to comprehend. Full stop.

This leaves attempting to apprehend the Divine, be it through intuition or something derived from a mystical experience providing a glimpse of the Shadow of the Transcendent. However, given the very nature of that which is truly “Transcendent” while trapped inside the human condition, I must ultimately remain ignorant.

And what is more, I assume any conclusions I draw from my current perspective must also ultimately be wrong.

So the Question shifts from what is “True” or “Right” to what is Useful to my spiritual growth, and that of others? And alongside this, what “feels right” given my apprehension of the Transcendent? These are of course, subjective measures, and applicable to others only in the broadest of terms. They are esoteric and personal in nature, not exoteric and universal.

Fast-forward through 4 years of studies…. For all my readings, I think I have found several approaches that speak to me….

Buddhism offers much in terms of overcoming our ego and realizing a number of very practical points, such as while pain is inevitable, suffering is a choice.

Core shamanism offers a number of meditational techniques for structuring a journey into the Dreamtime, which provides a means of apprehending something of the Archetypal Realm.

But neither is a religion as I see them.

For my spiritual growth, I am increasingly drawn toward the Christian Gnostics. Perhaps due to my bias — I was raised in the Christian faiths. But at the same time, I have a distrust for what I see as the human manipulations upon Christianity, moving it from spiritual illumination to forming as an enduring Institution.

So as a result of my investigations of the early gnostics and Carl Jung with a sprinkling of Joseph Campbell, I believe I am coming out of the agnostic forests and into the Light! (As a self-identified Christian Gnostic.)

Such are my thoughts….

+Erik Weaver

]]>By: Gargantuahttp://www.northernway.org/weblog/?p=486&cpage=1#comment-31153
Thu, 31 Mar 2011 17:18:17 +0000http://www.northernway.org/weblog/?p=486#comment-31153Yes and no… it’s rather a procrustean bed. Either you get stretched to fit it, or some bits have to be trimmed off. 🙁 I find the phases recognisable, but I think the sequence is often more complex than described.

Personally, these days I seem to phase back and forth from miserable agnosticism to dark-night believer. Recently I stumbled upon the “Jesus Prayer/Prayer of the Heart” as practised by the eastern Orthodox: “O Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy upon me, a sinner,” repeated quietly or even silently as often throughout the day as possible. This seems to help more than anything else I’ve found, is comfortable for me as I am already accustomed to mantra, and needs no creed to be repeated.

The mainstream churches are not reaching so many of us whom they should be reaching. The “cure of souls” is a forgotten part of today’s Christianity.

Yes, this list does bring up a lot of things, but it doesn’t actually fit everyone. My phase one as a child was agnostic, because my parents weren’t sure God existed.

So as a young adult I did my own seeking. First I recognized the truth of the Goddess, of the Creatress, she was all around me, in nature, I could see and feel her.

I explored many religions and as you know, wrote books that reflected my explorations. I came to see things like spells – prayer – and positive affirmations, as branches of the same tree. That tree tells us that we are a part of Our Maker, and as such, we have creative powers. What we do with them out in the world, is a huge topic of course for another time.

But regarding suffering, whether we like it or not, and generally we don’t cause it hurts, it’s suffering that introduces us to deep parts of ourself. We get opportunities to react, to cope, to deal with whatever it is. And the challenge, particularly after learning about the love of Jesus and of Our Maker, is to keep that love going in the face of challenge.

Anyway, enough podium stuff, got to get my day going and deal with some of my current challenges… !

]]>By: Meredith N.http://www.northernway.org/weblog/?p=486&cpage=1#comment-31105
Fri, 11 Mar 2011 04:06:24 +0000http://www.northernway.org/weblog/?p=486#comment-31105I do so agree with you about there being stages in religious belief. Having been strongly conditioned since early childhood to FEAR non-belief, I have never had the stage of not believing anything, but I have discarded some beliefs and taken on other new ones that would make my family’s hair curl! I have become much less anthropomorphic about G_D. I try not to ascribe gender to the deity or to assume that God want’s this or that just because the scriptures seem to indicate them, because they were written by people in an anthropomorphic stage of history. The older I get (65 now) the bigger and more inclusive my God gets, and the less willing I am to announce any limitations for God I become.

In the same vein, I have come to the opinion that many things tradition says God does NOT want may also be mistaken notions extrapolated from ancient writings. In my fundamentalist background, certain things (yoga, meditation, development of psychic gifts, spiritualism, shamanism, etc.) were sins because they supposedly encourage self development instead of dependence on God. I now believe that any abilities we have should be freely developed because they were part of our endowment from the creator.

This is an extremely interesting subject and one that I find myself considering quite often. I believe Lichtenberg, and Katia, are both correct in their assessment of the four phases of belief. Based on my studies, and personal experience, I think that most people in the Western world evolve through these stages of personal faith in one way or another.
However, there is another, equally interesting school of thought that suggests that many of us need to believe as we develop into the ‘mature’ stages of adulthood. Just as the Kabbalists only teach those who have reached the age of 40, perhaps it our middle-aged mind, trained by experience, that reaches out to grasp an understanding of faith, its purpose and design. Perhaps, as some suggest, it is the fear of our own mortality that brings us to the alter in our later years.
For me personally, I believe that our universe is too great and too unexplainable for there to be no purpose. We must be more than the accidental marriage of atoms in a swirling soup of chemicals blended by time and volcanic heat.
As I enter the “fourth phase” and stand at the door of my fifth decade in existence, I am trying to gain a better understanding of my faith, religion and our collective relationship with the deity that must exist in some dimension. I pray that we all may continue this journey together, in peace and harmony, learning from each others experience and wisdom. I believe that one day, regardless of our beliefs, we will all end up in the same place.
Peace and Love
Reverend Eddie